363 research outputs found
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Reflective practice and inquiry: Let's talk more about inquiry
No full textReflective practice and inquiry are aspects of teacher professional practice that characterise teachers as learners. Reflective practice in some form is considered in contemporary education as an essential activity for teachers and teacher educators. ‘Inquiry as professional development’ and ‘inquiry as research’, on the other hand, are forms of reflective practice designed and intended to go beyond the personal. We explore the following three research and two inquiry approaches that teachers can use to inform their practice and contribute to our collective knowledge about teaching: the research methods of self-study, autoethnography and action research, and the inquiry approaches ‘teaching as inquiry’, and ‘spiral of inquiry’. Any research or inquiry approach used needs to fit purpose, language use, positioning as a researcher and writer, degree of reflexivity and the degree of public critique of the project. When the chosen approach fits, our research work has a better chance of improving teaching, student progress and achievement, in short: being useful to others
The changing landscape of one primary school’s mathematics curriculum
No full textThis paper describes a period of substantial changes in the mathematics curriculum of one primary school in Christchurch. Using retrospective analysis, we identified two important conceptual themes: equity of mathematical learning and opportunities for all students to learn to be a mathematician. Access to research about these themes prompted two organisational actions, the elimination of between class streaming and a concentrated professional learning focus on mathematics, that acted as catalysts for major changes. In the first year of these changes, there were significant gains in student assessment data, providing early and encouraging feedback for teachers. During subsequent years, further changes were implemented that illustrated how equity and opportunities to be a mathematician were enduring themes for resourcing and sustaining teachers’ practices
A future-focus for teaching and learning: Technology education in two New Zealand secondary schools
No full textTechnology education has been a part of the New Zealand curriculum in many forms since its inception as a craft subject. With a global push towards technological innovation and an increased awareness of the impact of technology on society, it is reasonable to assume that technology education has an established role in student learning around the local and international social issues that intersect with technology. This article is based on the initial findings of doctoral research, which aims to illustrate how teacher’s perceptions and previous experiences influence their understandings around the nature of technology education in their school
Digital technologies: From vision to action
No full textThe interest and uptake in utilising digital technologies in education appears to be exponential. With the rollout of ultrafast broadband and the development of the Network for Learning in New Zealand, school leaders face the challenge and opportunity of deciding when, what and how they go about implementing digital technologies in their schools. Based on evidence from an interpretive study involving three school leaders of new schools I explore here alignment of their organisation’s vision for teaching and learning and use of digital technologies. This study suggests that digital technologies have significant potential to enhance learning opportunities within an explicit and shared vision of what a learner needs to be successful in their lives.
Neoliberalism, audit culture, and teachers: Empowering goal setting in an audit culture
No full textIn this paper, I discuss the concepts of neoliberalism and audit culture, and how they affect teaching culture. Moreover, I propose a form of goal setting that, if used properly, will hopefully work to combat some of the more onerous aspects of neoliberalism and audit clture in educatio
Digital video and writing with priority learners
No full textDigital technology has become more ubiquitous in classrooms across the western world. Literacy learning is topical in New Zealand education under the umbrella of the current National Standards policy, a policy introduced on the basis of rhetoric around improving achievement for priority learners. The study presented in this paper would then appear to be timely in a number of ways. The paper outlines the historical context and relevancy of the study. The paper discusses the teaching and learning environment in which the research was conducted. Data were gathered through the medium of semi-structured interview and was analysed and a number of themes emerged. Findings indicate that working with digital video as a learning medium can have positive effects on children’s writing. These effects related to increased levels of motivation and confidence. Participants were able to focus on literacy tasks for prolonged periods and that working with digital video in this way had positive effects on the participants’ vocabulary. Confidence was exhibited through feelings of pride and a strengthened personal and cultural voice
Leading from the front: Lessons in leadership and sustainable change
No full textStarting a new position in a new school with a mandate to develop inquiry learning meant this author had to be mindful of his first impressions of where teachers ‘were at’. However, the more he got to know the teachers and his new context, the more he learned and was achieved. In this paper readers are encouraged to suspend their initial judgments of colleagues as they seek to develop supportive and collaborative ways of working together, and sensitive ways to lead change